[01] Ertugrul Apakan is holding contacts with US officials in
Washington

Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Ertugrul Apakan has
held a series of talks with high-level officials and congressmen in
Washington D.C. under the existing strategic dialogue between Turkey
and the United States. During his stay in the U.S. capital city since
the beginning of the week, Apakan met with Under Secretary of State for
Political Affairs William Burns, Assistant Secretary of State for
European and Eurasian Affairs Dan Fried and some congressmen. All
issues concerning both Turkey and the United States were high on agenda
of the meetings. After completing his talks, Apakan left Washington
D.C. for Ankara.

[02] Mehmet Ali Talat completed his visit to Brussels after meeting
with the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Finland and Britain

Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris newspaper (12.12.08) reports that the
Turkish Cypriot leader, Mehmet Ali Talat, completed yesterday his visit
to Brussels after meeting with the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of
Finland and Britain, Alexander Stub and David Milliband respectively.
While some newspapers write that Mr Talats meeting with the Minister of
Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic, Karel Schwarzeber, was postponed
because of lack of time, Turkish Cypriot daily Star Kibris newspaper
(12.12.08) reports that this meeting did take place.

Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris newspaper (12.12.08) reports that the
delegation of the Cyprus Peace Platform rounded up its contacts in
Brussels yesterday. Adnan Eraslan, current spokesperson of the Platform
and chairman of the Turkish Cypriot Secondary School Teachers Trade
Union (KTOEOS), said that they will organize a press conference
regarding their contacts in Brussels when they return to the island and
they will explain in detail the views of the EU officials and the
members of the European Parliament.

(I/Ts.)

[04] Foreign Ministry Spokesman denies reports on soured relations
between the Turkish Republic and the Turkish Republic set up in
occupied northern Cyprus

Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Burak Ozugergin defined the several
news stories about diplomatic relations between Turkey and the Turkish
Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) as misleading.

Ozugergin told A.A on Thursday that those news stories which were
published on Wednesday, included misleading information. He said that
Turkish Ambassador in Lefkosa was still pursuing his term in office.

Ozugergin added that Turkish ambassador had been on his mission without
any interruption since the day he was appointed.

The news stories claimed that Turkey-TRNC diplomatic relations dropped
to charge d' affairs level. The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus has
not appointed an ambassador to Ankara for 3.5 months and Turkey has not
appointed an ambassador to Lefkosa [occupied Lefkosia] for 2.5 months."

[05] The chairman of the Cyprus Human Rights and Freedoms Association
said the human rights are violated in the occupied areas of Cyprus

Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris newspaper (12.12.08) reports that Hasan
Dede Tahran, chairman of the Cyprus Human Rights and Freedoms
Association has said that the human rights are violated in the occupied
areas of the Republic of Cyprus and added that the laws regarding the
human rights and freedoms should be harmonized with the EU and the
international norms. In a statement on the occasion of the week for
Human Rights, Mr Tarhan noted that the violations of the human rights
are covered up by the institutions of the persons concerned in the
occupied areas of Cyprus.

(I/Ts.)

[06] British boxer: The embargos imposed on the Turkish Cypriot
athletes is a crime against the humanity

Turkish daily Hurriyet newspaper (12.12.08) under the title in its
sports news pages, The embargo is a crime of the humanity, carries an
interview of David Haye, the British world champion in
light-heavyweight boxing who contested with the TRNC flag on his
shorts. As the paper reports, the British boxer with the TRNC flag on
his shorts became the voice of the Turkish Cypriots who are under
political and sports embargo.

In his interview, David Haye talks about his life in the occupied areas
of Cyprus and how the TRNC flag helped him to come out from
invisibility. The British boxer said that he wanted to make known the
existence of a country called TRNC and that when he was informed about
the embargos imposed on the Turkish Cypriot athletes he thought that
this is a crime of the humanity.

David Haye referring to the reactions over the TRNC flag on his shorts,
stated, inter alia: Some persons complained about me to the English
Boxing Federation, by saying There [the TRNC] is not a recognized
country. It is an offence to get up on the ring with the TRNC flag.
When the reaction went even further I said: If have the courage come
and take off my shorts with the TRNC flag by yourself. No one had the
courage. After the live broadcasting to the USA and the UK of the fight
that I won the title, I get over ten million letters from Turks. After
this gesture of mine, everybody began to talk about the TRNC. In
addition, I got letters, even reaching to threats, from Greek
Cypriots.

(EA)

[07] Report in Hurriyet on the efforts of Turkish diplomats before the
EU summit

Under the title Summit hard on Turkey in Europe, Hurriyet Daily
News.com (12.12.2008) publishes the following report by Cansu Camlibel
from Brussels:

Turkish diplomats had a rough time in Brussels during a foreign
ministers meeting this week, with European Union President France
refusing to call the process accession talks, which would imply the
possibility of full EU membership for Turkey, as well as its harsh
criticism of Turkeys relations with Cyprus and the slow pace of its
reforms.

French opposition to full Turkish membership in the European Union was
once again carved into an official document, as the final declaration
of the summit of heads of states, which started yesterday, made no
reference to "accession" as the final aim of the talks.

While Turkey has been enjoying a long holiday, Turkish diplomats in
Brussels have had a tough time ahead of the summit. Due to the
determination of the French presidency of the EU not to discuss
enlargement issues during the summit, the conclusions concerning Turkey
were sealed at the meeting of foreign ministers Monday.

The declaration, to be officially adopted today, reflects the
unpleasant nature of relations between Ankara and
Brussels, as well as the ongoing objection by France to the word
accession, which implies membership to the EU.

France critical of Turkey

France not only avoided labeling Turkeys process accession negotiations
but also used the term Intergovernmental conference instead of
accession conference, to describe the event to be held next week to
open two new negotiation chapters.

Admitting that the insistence to omit the word accession is the
reflection of their President Nicholas Sarkozys well-known position
against Turkey, French sources said hopes for a different text during
the French presidency would only be unrealistic.

Although the French position is nothing new, a strong warning for
Ankara to refrain from threatening Greece and Cyprus in disputed seas
has added to problems. Turkeys obstruction to the oil prospects of
Greek Cyprus in the Mediterranean found a considerable place in the EUs
declaration. The wording conveyed a European perception of Turkish
naval activities as a source of threat to its neighbors.

Ports must be opened

Turkey needs to commit unequivocally to good neighborly relations and
to the peaceful settlement of disputes in accordance with the United
Nations Charter, having recourse, if necessary, to the International
Court of Justice. The Union urges the avoidance of any kind of threat,
source of friction or action which could damage good, neighborly
relations and the peaceful settlement of disputes, the declaration
read.

The Council also recalled its expectations of Turkey to open ports and
airports to Greek Cypriot vessels and added that progress is now
urgently awaited. The European Union, which suspended negotiation in
eight chapters December 2006 due to Turkeys refusal to open its ports,
will review the progress on the issue November 2009, which marks a new
consequential deadline for Ankara.
Disappointed by the harsh EU reaction in the document, Ankara argued
Brussels should acknowledge that Greek Cypriots tried to undermine the
ongoing peace talks on the island by undertaking unilateral activities,
ignoring the rights of Turkish Cypriots.

Meanwhile, French sources claimed that they saved the opening of two
new chapters with Turkey by penning a declaration favorable to Greek
Cyprus. During the technical preparations for the chapter on free
movement of capital, Ankara included an agreement signed with the
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, or TRNC, in the negotiation
framework document sent to Brussels.

Since Greek Cypriots were outraged with the use of the term TRNC, which
implies an independent state for Turkish Cypriots, they threatened to
veto the opening of the chapter. France, not wishing to fail in its
promises to open two chapters with Turkey before it hands the
presidency to the Czech Republic, intervened with a formula to remove
the agreement from the real document and annex it as a cover letter.
According to French sources this incident was an example of Turkey not
handling technical negotiations well.

Slow pace of reforms

Despite our efforts for a fair attitude towards Turkey during our EU
presidency and our support for Turkeys temporary seat at the United
Nations Security Council, all we get is nothing but complaints, a
French diplomat said, on the condition of anonymity. France wants
Turkish permission for the participation in military procurements and
also the Nabucco pipeline project.

Ankara excluded Paris from all big-scale tenders after a lower house
of the French Parliament adopted a bill making it a crime to deny
Armenian genocide allegations in 2006. The European Union also noted
with regret that Turkey was making very limited progress on political
reform.

The Council is disappointed to note that over the year just passed
Turkey has made only limited progress, particularly in regards to
political reforms, read the summit declaration. Asking Turkey to
redouble its efforts to implement the measures so long awaited, the
European Union underlined that more needs to be done to reform the
judiciary, fight corruption and torture, guarantee freedom of
expression and religion, and protect minority rights.

Meanwhile, EU heads condemned all terrorist attacks and violence in
Turkish territory in the strongest terms and expressed full solidarity
with the people of Turkey. However, they also reiterated expectations
that Turkey must conduct its fight against terrorism with due regard
for human rights, fundamental freedoms and international law, while
preserving regional peace and stability.

[08] Turkey set to reap the benefits of Guls visit to Armenia for the
football match and talks with Armenia

Under the title Third parties must be quiet, Hurriyet Daily News.com
(12.12.08) reports the following:

The Turkish Parliament urged the parliaments of third party countries
not to disrupt the process of rapprochement between Turkey and Armenia
with efforts to recognize the 1915-dated events as genocide.
Politicians and parliaments cannot judge history, said Parliament
Speaker Koksal Toptan.

We have always warned the parliaments (of other countries) that such
moves will not help the Turkey-Armenia talks. All responsible
parliaments should now avoid hindering the ongoing process, Koksal
Toptan Parliament Speaker told the Hürriyet Daily News and Economic
Review in an interview.

Turkish President Abdullah Gul was in Yerevan in a historic visit in
September, paving the way to normalize relations between the two
neighbors, who have had no diplomatic ties since the early '90s. Barack
Obamas victory in the presidential race and his decision to appoint
Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State worried Turkey, who fears a
possible recognition of the 1915 incidents involving Armenian as
genocide by the House of Representatives, because of the strong support
both have voiced towards the Armenian lobby.

Toptan recalled that France decided to halt discussing historical
events in their parliament and praised the move as positive. Its
satisfactory to see that other parliaments have started to share our
views on the matter, Toptan stated. Having already recognized the
Armenian claims as "genocide", France had been discussing whether or
not to prosecute those who denied the genocide for the last two years.

Turkey not prejudiced

Asked what the Turkish Parliament could do to help the reconciliation
process with Armenia, Toptan said Parliament had no prejudices against
Armenians and was ready to talk to them. 'We will do whatever we can do
in terms of contributing to the ongoing process, Toptan said.

Though he said they were not prejudiced against Armenians, Toptan
emphasized the fact that Armenia still occupied territories of
Azerbaijan. I think Armenias withdrawal from the Nagorno-Karabagh will
surely have a positive impact on the process, he said.

There are 70,000 Armenian people working in Turkey and many Turkish
products are sold in Armenia, Toptan said, adding, If we continue in
this direction, there will be no issues left for the Armenian diaspora
to abuse.

Toptan also had messages for his European counterpart who relentlessly
criticized Turkey for slowing down the reform process. Arguing that the
2007 general elections reduced the countrys motivation but had no
negative impact on technical talks, Toptan said: We are speeding up ...
But the EU is not implementing its own obligations. It would be unfair
to put the blame on Turkey. This country has made enormous reforms in
recent years.

The EU harmonization packet, including 130 new laws, was brought to the
agenda of the Council of Ministers and Parliament discussed the Turkish
Trade Law, Toptan said.

According to a report in Radikal Turkish daily newspaper (11.12.08),
Chechen commander Islam Canibekov, who fought in the Chechen army
against Russia, was assassinated in Istanbul's Umraniye District two
nights ago. The report adds that another Chechen commander, Colonel
Gazhi Edilsultanov was also assassinated in Basaksehir in September.

According to a report in Star Turkish daily newspaper (11.12.08), it is
believed that the weapons used to kill Canibekov and Edilsultanov are
the KGB-make MSP.

Meanwhile, Turkish daily Vatan newspaper (11.12.08) wrote yesterday
that according to Russia news agency, the Turkish police examines the
possibility that the Chechen commander, Islam Canibekov was
assassinated by KGB, since the weapons used for the assassination were
especially made for the KGB (Committee for State Security of the
Russian Federation).

The paper also writes that the same model of weapons might have been
used in the murder of another Chechen commander in the past.

[10] Millions of new electors in the Turkish cities prior the local
elections

Under its front-page title, 1.4 million new electors in Istanbul,
Turkish daily Milliyet newspaper (12.12.08) reports that while it is
being debating that the number of the electors increased by six million
prior to the local elections of March 29, 2009, in Turkey, Milliyet
gathered information about the voters number in various cities.

Accordingly, there are 1.4 million new electors in Istanbul and 267,000
in Izmir. As the paper reports, the increase in Eastern Anatolia was
also interesting. Specifically, the number of the electors in Sanliurfa
which was 553 thousands was increased by 41% to 779 thousands. The
province of Gaziantep came second with 35% increase.

Turkish daily Bugun newspaper (12.12.08) under the title, 64 thousand
Turks became EU citizens, reports that Eurostat, the EUs official
statistics service, announced that Turks were the most who among
foreigners became EU citizens during 2006.

According to the figures, among the 735 thousand people who became EU
citizens in 2006, 64,000 were Turks, 48,000 Moroccans, 23,000 Iraqis,
21,000 Ecuadorians and 20,000 Serbians.

Following are the summaries of reports and commentaries of selected
items from the Turkish press on 11 December 2008:

a) Economy:

According to a survey conducted by the Political Researcher Strategy
Development Center, the Turkish government has been unsuccessful in
dealing with the economic crisis. A report Turkish daily newspaper
(11.10.08) in Milliyet states that the survey was conducted in 26
provinces with the participation of 4,322 citizens. The results of the
survey show that 72.3 percent of the participants believe that the
Justice and Development Party, AKP, government has been unsuccessful in
handling the crisis and 27.7 percent believe that it has been
successful.

According to a report in Milliyet Turkish daily newspaper (11.12.08), a
high-ranking delegation will be going on a tour of the Gulf countries
in a bid to attract to Turkey Gulf funds that are estimated to be some
$2.5 trillion. The report adds that the goal is to secure an annual
investment of at least $10-15 billion for the telecommunication,
retail, logistic, and energy sectors and especially for the Southeast
Anatolian Project, GAP.

A report in Hurriyet Turkish daily newspaper (11.12.08) details the
forecasts made by the World Bank regarding the growth rate of
developing countries for the next few years. According to the World
Bank, Turkey's growth rate will decline 1.7 percent in 2009 and will be
about 3 percent, whereas in 2010 it will reach 4.9 percent.

Commenting on ongoing discussions on whether the global crisis will hit
Turkey or not in Turkish Daily newspaper (11.12.08) the mid-section of
his article in Milliyet, Melih Asik argues that such discussions have
no meaning and that a single glance at the unemployment data will give
us a picture of the economic situation in the country. Asik writes:
"The number of individuals who applied to employment agencies in
November 2007 was 59,000, while this number increased to 148,000 in
November of this year. As for the figures for the last 11 months,
629,000 individuals applied for employment in 2007, while this number
increased to 1,004,000 this year. While the number of those seeking
employment has increased so much, the number of those who did find
employment remains the same."

Relating a conversation he had with Agricultural Minister Mehdi Eker in
an article in Hurriyet, Sukru Kucuksahin reports Eker as having said
that the sector has not been affected by the global crisis and that
there have been no layoffs. Eker explains that the need for food even
in times of crisis is one of the primary reasons why the sector has not
been affected by the global crisis. Last year's food crisis has also
increased the strategic importance of the agricultural crisis, notes
the minister, adding that the $24 billion annual food import in the
Middle East is an opportunity for Turkey. Detailing the protocols
signed with Bahrain and Saudi Arabia for investments in the
agricultural sector, the minister declares that local businessmen have
also begun investing in the sector in recent years because of the large
profit margin.

Referring to the decrease in production in the industrial sector since
August 2008 in an article in Ortadogu, Ulvi Izzet declares that the
actual problem is the $98.648 billion debt the real sector has to pay
in the long run. Pointing out that of this amount $24.238 billion has
to be paid by September 2009, Izzet stresses: "The fact that a large
section of the debt belongs to the industrial sector is important from
the viewpoint of indicating the financial bottleneck to be
experienced." Questioning how these debts are to be paid while
industrial production is on the verge of collapsing, Izzet predicts
massive unemployment, bankruptcies, and a halt in production and adds:
"This is not a nightmare scenario. It is a very easy observation based
on the data. The government must have seen this danger as well because
it is not abandoning the gates of the IMF and is preparing the ground
for allowing the IMF to strangle us in different ways." Arguing that
the government has no choice but to reach an agreement with the IMF,
the writer predicts that the IMF will impose difficult conditions for
the loan to be extended and will not show the tolerance it has shown to
other countries.

Focusing on the inflation target for 2009 that has been announced as
7.5 percent, Radikal columnist Fatih Ozatay explains that given the low
domestic demand and the decreasing production this target will be
easily met if the foreign exchange rates remain the same. The foreign
currency exchange rates are an unknown, writes Ozatay, since the
economic program to be implemented is also an unknown. Referring to the
IMF request, as leaked by a high ranking bureaucrat, that the inflation
target be kept at 13-14 percent in 2009, Ozatay argues that this is
definitely not necessary because for the inflation to reach 13-14
percent the foreign currency rates have to jump considerably, adding
that the likelihood of this happening is very low. Ozatay maintains
that such information is being leaked by the government to justify the
fact that it does not want to conclude an agreement with the IMF before
the elections thus blaming the IMF for the lack of an agreement
stemming from its unreasonable demands. In conclusion, the writer calls
on the government to find more sound reasons to justify its actions.

According to a report by Fatma Kosar in Cumhuriyet, the results of a
survey conducted by Ipsos KMG indicate that the public has entered a
"crisis psychology." The report adds that 82 percent of the
participants believe that the global crisis will adversely affect
Turkey.

b) Local Elections:

Describing Prime Minister Erdogan as a "political magician" in an
article in Vatan, Gungor Mengi argues that Erdogan who came to power by
promising to eradicate "corruption, poverty, and prohibitions," has
managed to increase them to the highest level. Erdogan might win in the
upcoming local elections despite the cases of corruption epitomized in
the Deniz Feneri [Lighthouse] case, despite the rampant poverty, and
the bans imposed primarily on journalists, claims Mengi, adding that
this will be achieved through the distribution of state funds to the
needy in the form of food parcels and coal sacks in exchange for their
votes. Accusing the government of spending state funds to lure votes
instead of using them to increase employment, Mengi argues that the
government will eventually turn Turkey into a huge soup kitchen.

Explaining the flaws in the voting procedures implemented during the
last elections and the indifference of the authorities to these flaws
in an article in Vatan, Ruhat Mengi criticizes the attitude of the High
Election Council, YSK, to the flaws that have been pointed out with
regards to the upcoming elections such as the sudden unrealistic
increase in the number of voters, the inclusion of the dead and babies
in the electoral lists, and the appearance of over 360 names in a
single address. Arguing that the current system is also open to fraud
and manipulation, Mengi asserts that one cannot hold elections under
the current circumstances.

The principle of the legitimacy and integrity of the elections is being
totally compromised with the help and the support of the YSK, claims
Vatan columnist Suheyl Batum in his 600-word article, calling on the
government, the YSK, and the Turkish Statistics Institute, TUIK, to
give a reasonable explanation for the sudden 6 million increase in the
number of voters. Accusing the YSK of committing incredible "mistakes"
since 2002, Batum argues that the phenomenon of "just and honest
elections" has been totally forgotten.

In an article entitled "Election contest to take place in a few
cities", Yeni Safak columnist Yasin Dogan defines two goals for the
political Opposition in the local elections in March 2009, namely
gaining moral superiority over the ruling AKP by winning the municipal
elections in a few important cities currently controlled by the AKP and
using a possible minor decrease in the AKP's public approval rating as
a means of launching a new process against the Erdogan government.
Dogan also claims that as far as the Democratic Society Party, DTP, the
Republican People's Party, CHP, and the Nationalist Action Party, MHP,
are concerned, the elections will take place chiefly in the following
provinces respectively: Diyarbakir, Izmir-Antalya, Mersin.

In an article entitled "How to save 2009", Zaman columnist Mumtazer
Turkone asserts that Turkey's "losses" in 2008 can be used as a basis
for mapping out a course of action for 2009 that would include the
following goals: 1. Taking care to make sure the local elections in
March gives rise to minimum political tension in the country. 2.
Broadening the scope of democratic consensus as much as possible and
establishing strong barriers against anti-democratic trends. 3.
Addressing the "Kurdish issue" as an international human rights problem
and trying to solve it on the basis of a nationwide consensus.

c) Turkish-EU Relations:

Describing Turkish-EU relations as the dialogue of the deaf in an
article in Milliyet, Semih Idiz recalls the administrative reforms of
1839, pointing out that despite the fact that 170 years have passed
since then we are still faced with the same dialogue with the West.
Idiz writes: "So long as the concept of 'reform' is received with
aversion by the sovereign forces, nothing will change." Summarizing the
reforms demanded by the EU as the judicial reforms, the struggle
against corruption, the effective safeguarding of citizens' rights,
zero tolerance to torture, and the implementation of the freedoms of
expression and religion, Idiz maintains that the fundamental goal of
the government is not to sever its ties with the EU, adding that it is
not at all concerned with speeding up the reform process. The
government interprets the word "reform" to mean steps necessitated for
the EU, claims Idiz, adding that had that not been the case, the
reforms that are necessary for Turkey would have been implemented long
ago.

Viewing the 13-article homework the foreign ministers of the EU member
countries gave to Turkey in the aftermath of their meeting this week,
Vatan columnist Mustafa Mutlu declares that while the first 12 articles
incorporate principles that should be abided by in a real democracy,
the last article, namely the one asking Turkey to recognize the
Republic of Cyprus, is a purely political imposition. Ironically asking
whether the issues over which Turkey is not harmonious with the EU
criteria are limited to 12 topics, Mutlu wonders why the EU is not
asking Turkey to amend its Political Parties Law or its Election Law
which the writer believes is not fully democratic. Finding our
education and social security systems also wanting, Mutlu claims that
the discomfort of the EU vis-à-vis Turkey is not in what it expresses
but in what it cannot express.